Cleveland Browns lose to the New York Giants, 41-27: What was the biggest reason? (re-cap and poll)

Giants' linebacker Chase Blackburn (left) intercepts a Brandon Weeden pass intended for tight end Ben Watson (right) in the end zone during the fourth quarter of the Browns' 41-27 loss in New York on Sunday.John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns lost to the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, 41-27, in New York on Sunday.

Most of the game was a mismatch. Cleveland led, 14-0, after about five minutes, with lots of help from the Giants. Browns' cornerback Sheldon Brown recovered a New York fumble on the first play from scrimmage, at the Giants' 22. Two plays later, Trent Richardson's 15-yard run gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead. Then, on the fifth play following a New York punt, the Browns went up, 14-0, when quarterback Brandon Weeden connected with wide receiver Josh Gordon for a 62-yard touchdown pass. Something went wrong for the Giants on that play, as they wound up with linebacker Chase Blackburn trying to cover Gordon.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, the bulk of the game remained. Over the next 44 minutes and 16 seconds of game time -- 44 seconds short of three full quarters -- the Giants outscored the Browns, 41-6, to lead, 41-20, with 5:41 left. During that stretch, New York totaled 447 yards of offense to the Browns' 197.

Browns' quarterback Brandon Weeden threw two costly interceptions: (1) with the Browns leading, 17-10, and facing a third-and-one play on the New York 25 with four minutes left in the first half. Weeden's pass was picked off by Giants' safety Stevie Brown, whose 46-yard return to the Cleveland 40 set up New York's game-tying touchdown; (2) with the Browns trailing, 34-20, with more than nine minutes to go, and having a third-and-goal play at the New York 10. Blackburn, who played his college football for Akron's Zips, intercepted Weeden's throw, intended for tight end Ben Watson, four yards into the end zone.

Browns' standout returner Josh Cribbs lost a fumble on the kickoff return after Weeden's first interception led to New York's tying score. Stevie Brown made the recovery at the Cleveland 29, and five plays later, another Giants' touchdown gave them a 24-17 lead.

The Giants rushed for 243 yards on 34 carries, 7.1 yards per try. They had established their running game even before the Browns' fine middle linebacker, D'Qwell Jackson, left the game for good late in the second quarter with a head injury.

New York quarterback Eli Manning completed 25 of 37 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and he wasn't sacked. Manning threw one interception -- a pick by Sheldon Brown, when Brown should have been called for interference.

Manning began dissecting the Browns' secondary -- often going at cornerback Buster Skrine and Brown, too -- long before corner Dimitri Patterson left early in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Of course, Cleveland played without cornerback Joe Haden, serving the fourth and final game of his suspension for using a banned substance. Haden can return for next Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cleveland. He's the team's best coverage man, and though he shouldn't yet be considered among the NFL's elite, it's reasonable to believe the Browns' overall pass coverage should be at least somewhat improved with his return.

We don't include coaching decisions in the poll because we want fans to express their thoughts on what went wrong between the sidelines, from a playing standpoint. To include in the poll, for instance, a specific play-call would distract from finding what fans have to say about the players' performances.

It's apparent that the play-call controversy of the day regards that Browns' third-and-one play at the New York 25, with about four minutes left in the second quarter and Cleveland ahead, 17-10. The Browns didn't have Richardson on the field for the play. That's when Weeden misfired on the pass intended for Gordon, the one picked off by Stevie Brown, leading to New York's game-tying touchdown -- when it looked before the play that the Browns could soon boost their lead to at least 20-10. Most NFL teams probably try a variety of plays -- whether a play like the Browns tried and whether run or pass -- in similar situations, but that's for a different debate.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.